Wilhelm II (1859-1941) succeeded his father, Friedrich III, and was crowned Emperor (Kaiser) of Germany in 1888. During his reign, Wilhelm II built up the German military machine and a naval fleet to rival that of Great Britain. He was forced to abdicate under the terms of the armistice ending World War I.

Text is taken from the first stanza of “Das Lied der Deutschen” (The Song of the Germans), written in 1841 by August Heinrich Hoffmann von Fallersleben and sung to a melody composed in 1797 by Joseph Haydn for the birthday of Holy Roman Emperor Francis II.